Often described as a kind of soulful cousin to Cantonese food, the cuisine of China’s migratory Hakka people abounds with pickled vegetables and slow-cooked meats. This homey Outer Richmond restaurant is a great place to get hooked on rustic, comforting flavors. Must-order dishes include salt-baked chicken, clams stir-fried with basil, and braised pork belly with shrimp paste.

On cold nights prior to the pandemic, many of the regulars who’d crowd the small, scruffy dining room at Old Mandarin Islamic would order one of the spicy Beijing-style hot pots. In general, the restaurant, which specializes in Chinese Muslim cuisine, is a great place to feast on lamb — stir-fried with cumin, braised, or boiled in a clay pot. Chile-heads will want to test their endurance against the side dish/condiment known as la si ni, or “spice you to death.”

A perennial Sunset favorite, this dumpling shop on Irving Street has often held an “if you know you know” reputation. No longer, as the popularity of its expertly-made xiao long bao has exploded into the public arena. It was only a matter of time before legions arrived for a seat at this simple shop. Try the beef noodle soup if an array of dumplings won’t suffice.

Head to this Geary Street restaurant for, as the name indicates, Sichuan cuisine including the red-tinged Chef’s Special Fish Stew that’s heated tableside, and lamb chops encrusted in cumin. Those with an affection for offal can try pan-fried pig intestine, tripe in red chile sauce, and spicy pig brain.

There’s a reason this west side restaurant had a sister restaurant literally next door called San Tung 2 for years. On any old weekday there’ll be a line at this fried chicken hotspot, and the restaurant stays lit way past sundown as fans hang around lazy susans downing tea and working through green beans, stir-frys, and that all-powerful crispy, sweet, spicy fried chicken.

After closing in July 2022, the longtime Pacific Heights Chinese restaurant Gourmet Carousel reopened in April 2023 under slightly new owners. At the helm: the children of original owners BoHing Ko and his wife Sai Ko, who ran the restaurant for nearly four decades. The business is back for both lunch and dinner offering dishes including Hakka chicken soup, honey walnut shrimp, and Singapore-style fried rice noodles for dine-in and takeout.

Fans of Hong Kong Lounge II mourned its loss when a fire took out the Geary Boulevard restaurant in 2019, but it returned in 2023 with a new location in SoMa (albeit with a slightly different name). Favorites such as the restaurant’s crispy baked pork buns and steamed har gow are still on the menu but diners should venture into other dishes, such as the glazed coffee baby back ribs or whole roasted duck with plum sauce, for more filling options.

This Cantonese barbecue shop’s crackly-skinned roast pig and succulent, honey-brushed char siu — served either on its own or as part of a rice plate — make for some of the most luxurious bites in the city. For most of Hing Lung’s existence, delivery was never an option, but during the pandemic, co-owner Eric Cheung signed onto delivery apps under the moniker Go Duck Yourself, though of course customers can still walk up and order takeout.

The corner of Broadway and Columbus Avenue in San Francisco popped off in a big way at the end of February when 606 took over the location, redesigning the interior and adding all kinds of loveliness to the former New Sun Hong Kong restaurant menu. Now there’s salt-and-pepper pork chop from talent who cut their teeth at R&G Lounge, Washington Bakery, and more.

Chef Brandon Jew’s ambitious Chinese American restaurant in the heart of Chinatown continues to shine, retaining its status as the only Michelin-starred Chinatown restaurant. Though Jew has gone on to introduce a number of new projects, from spinoffs to a cookbook, Mister Jiu’s is the original favorite and now serves a prix fixe menu with the option to add on banquet-style plates including the roast duck platter with peanut butter hoisin.

One of San Francisco’s most titanic pop-ups opens the doors its first permanent location on Commercial Street in Chinatown on Thursday, March 14, bringing mapo spaghetti and chile crisp pig head to the neighborhood in a major way. Unlike in its pop-up phase, though, the physical location allows for clay pot, wok, and an expanded beverage menu, too, including beers from Asia and plenty of shochu.